Chapter 580: Thoughts
It was the middle of the night when Gabe woke up next. He’d been thinking about the murder when he fell asleep. As he padded outside and poured himself a drink, his thoughts however, were different. Usually, at the hour when thoughts of Her plagued him, tonight he was thinking about Autumn and her words.
Outside, he sat on the swing and looked up at the sky. It had been so long... "Ari... are you okay up there? You are aren’t you? Away from all the monsters that haunted you? Away from the voices and the hurt? hmm?"
Of course the only answer her got was the blowing of the wind. He inhaled deeply, trying to suppress the tears that threatened to fall. " You must be okay, alright? Do you remember the time when we used to play together, you were such a snooty little brat...I... I’m sorry, Ari...for not being able to protect you... for not giving you a choice in your protection."
His thoughts moved to the peaceful time that they’d spent together in the haven he prepared for her," That was a good place, wasn’t it? We were so farther away from everything..."
After a moment of silence, he closed his eyes and breathed deeply, trying to think back to those days. Unexpectedly, what appeared before him was not Arabelle, but a pair of big doe-loke eyes, asking if he would lean on her.
His eyes snapped open in confusion and horror. He looked around, as if he’d cheated on Arabelle.
Gabe breathed deeply, trying to curb the confusion within him. His eyes traced the little scars that Autumn had left on him and he sighed. This wasn’t cheating on Arabelle. It was something that he had just not expected. And that is why it had syumped him.
He gulped and tried to explain himself," Ari, I... Autumn is not you. I know I’ve been protective of her since I meet her. But its not you. So you don’t have to worry. Of course you never did worry..."
"Autumn... she is different from you. You were frail and yet not strong enough to accept it. To accept help. But Autumn... she looks frail too, brings out my protective instincts like you did, but she is strong. She is able to accept help when she needs it and she wants to return that as well."